An Actor's Son Explains the Dumb.

I shouldn’t have to write this, but here goes: curiosity is not a sin.

His dad, Richard Dreyfuss, went to a Ted Cruz rally. That's it. When Richard (a very well versed and accomplished actor) was asked about his attendance at said rally, his response was very well measured, reasonable, and thoughtful.

When asked if his being there suggested he supported Cruz, he responded, “It suggests that I’m interested in what he has to say… It’s the politics of my country, so I’m interested.”

Those with a pulse and intelligence would understand that statement to mean what it says. I want to hear what you have to say, because you have a stake in the way my country will potentially be led.

In an age of eight second attention spans, and feelz trumping logic and reason, that statement translated into "OMG RICHARD DREYFUSS SUPPORTS TED CRUZ." If you haven't seen the way Hollywood treats conservative ideas or conservative leaning actors, that's a potential death knell for someone who wants work in movies or television.

Within hours of his attendance at that rally, the headlines started rolling in. Conservative outlets praised Dreyfuss for his attendance and called it a victory for the GOP. Liberal outlets began decrying Dreyfuss and saying his support showed the GOP was, as is often hashed out, "full of old white people."

To be nice to Harry, this is where we go past Richard's attendance and go to the Dumb. Curiosity isn't a bad thing, nor is listening to someone else's ideas. Yet we treat it as such these days.

It is not shocking that people mistake curiosity with support, but it is pathetic and it is tragic.

If you can’t stand to listen to an idea, it does not prove that you oppose it. Refusing to show interest in a different perspective should not serve as a badge of pride in your own ideas. It actually serves the exact opposite function. It proves that you don’t even understand your own opinion. If you can’t understand the argument you disagree with, then you don’t have the right to disagree with it with any authority, nor do you really have a grasp on what your own idea means in its context.

If you can't listen to the other side's argument, if you can't begin to imagine they MIGHT be right on something, if you get dismissive and go "shrieking millennial feminists" or "Koch Brothers Faux News" on someone when an issue is discussed, you don't get the courtesy of even having your point of view respected because you don't understand your own. You have to look at the other side, examine their arguments, and internalize them to understand why you think the way you do.

But this is 21st Century America, and it's easier to browse Facebook and Twitter and scream at people in all caps instead of actually listening and learning.